Dear friends,

Thank you for your enthusiastic support of this work -- and for all your inquiries about our Native Voices trips to Peru and teachings in ancestral traditions by don Mariano and other maestros of the Andes.

Don Mariano's previously-planned visit to the USA for this year (2012) is in the process of being rescheduled for 2013. A message from don Mariano about some of the possibilities that he and other Q'ero teachers and healers see opening up within our current time frame (from now through the end of this year, and beyond) is posted below.

Thanks again to our dear friend, Dennis,  for his assistance in planning these events and for his beautiful translation of don Mariano's words from Quechua to English.

If you are not already on our mailing list to receive news about this and other possibilities, let us know.  We will be delighted to answer your questions and will keep you informed as future plans and possibilities evolve and take form, here on our beautiful Pachamama.

With gratitude,
Anita

Message from Q'ero Elder, don Mariano Quispe: The Third Phase of the Great Pachacuti!

Shared by Dennis Alejo Mango

On June 21st of 2012, according to the paqos, we entered the third phase of the Time of the New Beginning – which, for the paqos, is the time of the Great Pachacuti. The duration of the third phase is 6 months: Having commenced on the 21st of June, it will culminate on the 21st of December. At this point – on December 21, 2012 - we will formally step into what the Q’ero paqos refer to as the New Kingdom, or New Realm of Energy.


Vibrations of the divine feminine constellated around the date of June 21st, while vibrations of the divine masculine will constellate around the date of December 21st. On the date of December 21st, the divine feminine and divine masculine energies will melt together, and we will formally step into the New Kingdom of Energy. For the paqos, this New Realm of Energy will be infused with an increase in consciousness and a greatly expanded, new perception. 

Beloved Elder Paqo Don Mariano Quispe shares that during the span of time of the third phase (which commenced on June 21st), we must do the (inner) work to find our path: the path of our soul. He recommends that we listen to and follow the command of our soul. He shares that our soul will guide us and will align us with who we truly and deeply are, and with what our offerings are in this world and on this planet.

Don Mariano also clearly advises that this is the time during which we must embrace the teacher within us; he recommends that we re-encounter the teacher within us and follow the counsel and guidance of our own sacred inner teacher.

According to the paqos, each of us carries within us 7 gifts. Some of these gifts have already crystallized (have adopted tangible form and expression), and some of these gifts have not yet crystallized. During this third phase of the Great Pachacuti, we are invited to step out from our own shadows and to invoke the crystallization and expression of all 7 of our gifts. The creativity within us is awakening deeply during this period from solstice to solstice, and our creativity will support this process of the unfoldment and blossoming of our gifts.

Don Mariano suggests that, during this 6 month period, we work on anchoring ourselves while at the same time cultivating a posture of openness, interest, and curiosity – so that we are centered open channels to receive pure information about our own true natures and about the expressions of our gifts. It is interesting to note that for Don Mariano, one of our gifts may be that we are a healer; and that one of our gifts may be that we are not a healer. 

Don Mariano is particularly aware of the fact that many of us hide – or try to hide – our potential. He says that this phase of the Great Pachacuti demands that we no longer hide. We are being invited to align more fully with ‘knowing and showing’ who we truly and deeply are, in alignment with our souls, on the planet. 

In fact, the energies of the planet and of the cosmos will not allow us to continue hiding. Don Mariano recommends that if anything comes up for us during this 6th month period, it would be wise for us to not push it to the side, but to cultivate a ‘3-D’ perspective around it – contemplating it from all angles.

Shortly before the arrival of December 21st, there will be a sacred energetic doorway that opens. On 12/12/12, we will be invited to do deep personal work that will support us in our journey across the threshold of the New Kingdom.

Don Mariano will share additional information with us about 12/12/12 and our invitation to do personal work in the near future.

UPDATE: Native Voices ~ Ceremony and Teachings, Plans for 2012

Dear friends,

Thank you for your many emails and calls in support of bringing Q'ero maestro, don Mariano Quispe back to the USA this year! 

It is wonderful to stay in touch with all of you.  We have loved hearing from all of you ~ those who have travelled with us on apprenticeship journeys to Peru and all who have worked with don Mariano and other traditional Andean elders or with us here in North America. It is also exciting to connect with those of you who may describe yourself as "new" to these traditions, yet who feel a deep and ancient soul connection to these earth-honoring ways of awakening.

We are still working toward bringing don Mariano back to Georgia (Atlanta and the north Georgia mountains) and to western North Carolina, to re-visit sacred places near where he first offered ceremony and teachings with us on his first trip to North America three years ago. 

We hope to be able work out a visit this year, possibly in September-October, 2012. His next journey will include teachings for those who have worked in these traditions for a long time, for newcomers, and also may offer some limited opportunities to work with don Mariano on an individual basis. 

Please check back with us regularly in the next few weeks for more news about studying with don Mariano and with other powerful and heart-centered traditionally-based teachers ~ and also for developing news about some apprenticeship and creative travel possibilities that are beginning to unfold for 2013! 

In addition to the email address posted on this site, for additional information, you can also email us at:  samanita at mindspring.com 

We look forward to re-connecting with you soon!

With Heartfelt Munay,

Anita and Sam

Q'ero Maestro, Don Mariano Quispe ~ Teachings in North Carolina in July 2011

Note that the following information is about Native Voices'
 ceremony and teachings from previous years, which we have left posted here for background information.

 Information about this year and next year's possibilities (2012-2013) both in North America and in Peru will be posted later.

Don Mariano Quispe, beloved Q'ero Paqo will return to the USA this summer. We are delighted to invite you to share his journey to North America and to participate in either (or both) of two workshops in North Carolina, July 1-3 and July 7-9, 2011.

In the July 1-3 weekend, Ñusta Blossoming, don Mariano will build directly upon the Ñusta Karpay teachings that he first brought to North America last year. (For more information see the additional notes below.)

In the July 7-9 (Thursday-Saturday) workshop, Nature Spirits & the Kanchis Wara, don Mariano will share the ancestral Q'ero understanding of working with the energies of nature as we explore navigation of the Kanchis Wara ("Seven Layers" of consciousness), as understood in the mystical and healing realms of the Andes.

About don Mariano Quispe:

Don Mariano has served his community as a Paqo (the Quechua word for their ceremonialist/healers) since he was a teenager. Although he describes himself as "just a paqo", he has been formally recognized by his community as a Kuraq Akulleq, an elder, healer and visionary seer of the highest level.

A few years ago, his dreams and visions led don Mariano to expand his idea of his community beyond his own mountain village. He began to work with people from North America and Europe who traveled to Peru, called there by their own dreams.

After apprenticing with don Mariano for several years in Peru, three years ago we were finally able to help him bring his teachings for the first time to North America. The mountains (and perhaps also his own curiosity, sense of adventure, and affection for the gringos he had met in Peru) called him here. He felt a responsibility to share what he knew of ways to honor and care for our own sacred places and to connect with the spirits of the earth and sky. He once told us very simply, "Your mountains are hungry. You need to learn how to feed them."

The teachings don Mariano will bring to the USA this summer offer a beautiful opportunity for apprenticeship in an ancient path of loving service to Mother Earth -- and ways to awaken our heart-connection with all beings who dwell upon, within and above Pachamama's sacred body.

*********************

2011 

Ñusta Blossoming

July 1-3, 2011 ~ Highlands, North Carolina

The Ñusta Blossoming workshop is open to anyone who has previously received the Ñusta Karpay. Don Mariano will work directly with the powerful energies that were awakened during the Ñusta Karpay last year. It is his intention to support you in deepening your connection with these immensely powerful forces by facilitating a rebirth and expansion of the power of the Ñustas within. Under don Mariano’s guidance, we will work in time-honored ways with medicine tools and practices of the Andes, learning traditional Q’ero practices that support you, following your initiation with the Ñustas.

Don Mariano will bring with him to North America an extraordinary new mesa created specifically for these teachings. He has brought together this sacred medicine bundle through pilgrimage journeys to the Apus (holy mountains) and other sacred sites in Peru, where he met and gathered together the khuyas that wish to be part of this new Ñusta Mesa to help support these teachings.NOTE:

If you want to read more about the Ñusta teachings and initiations, we have left information from last year's teachings posted below (in the 2010 blog entries). If you feel strongly drawn to the Ñusta Blossoming workshop this summer but did not participate in the Ñusta Karpay workshops here in 2010, let me know. We will try to connect you with someone who can offer you the teachings and initiation (in a weekend workshop in late May or early June).

If you complete the Ñusta Karpay ahead of time, you will be welcome to register to participate in the workshop “Ñusta Blossoming” with don Mariano July 1-3, 2011. If that will not work for you, there is no prerequisite for the second workshop (described below), which is open to all. Experienced practitioners and newcomers are both welcome!

Nature Spirits & the Kanchis Wara

July 7-9, 2011 ~ Canton, North Carolina

In this exploration of the profound resonance between human consciousness and other parts of the natural world, we will align with natural energies and forces of Nature while learning how to harness and work with those energies for healing at all levels. Don Mariano will share powerful ways to call upon the spirits of nature and to connect with the Kanchis Wara, the “Seven Layers” of consciousness embodied in the Mountains (Masculine/the Father), Earth (Feminine/the Mother) and the Heavens (the Kingdom within your own physical body).

In the visionary living universe as it is understood in the Andes, the Paqos (medicine people) see layer upon layer of both simple and complex interconnections. Nature energies are correlated with layers of earth and heaven and simultaneously are connected with layers of self.

Don Mariano is bringing these teachings and ceremony to North America for the first time in this new workshop, Nature Spirits & the Kanchis Wara (Seven Layers), which he offers with the intention that we all walk in clarity, balance and great beauty upon Pachamama, our Mother Earth. Sharing this experience of immersion in Andean wisdom teachings will offer each of us the possibility for a profoundly expanded experience of relationship with our world.

For more information or to register:

Contact us at NativeVoicesSouth@gmail.com

Don Mariano Quispe ~ Returns to the USA, June, 2010

Don Mariano Quispe, the beloved Q'ero Paqo (In the Quechua language of the Andes Mountains in the Cusco region, a paqo is a healer/ceremonialist/teacher) has served his community since he was a teenager. Although don Mariano describes himself as a simple paqo, he has been formally recognized by his community as a Kuraq Akulleq, a healer and visionary seer of the highest level. In a few weeks, Don Mariano will travel from his home in the Andes of Peru to the USA, arriving here in the Southeast in June 2010.

Invitation ...

We are absolutely delighted to share the news that Q'ero maestro, don Mariano Quispe, together with his gifted translator and friend Dennis Alejo --- and perhaps also with a third companion, another Q'ero maestro -- will travel to North America in June 2010.

Teachings will be shared in North Carolina (on a suggested donation basis):

* June 4-6 ~ The Mountain, Highlands, NC

* June 11-13 ~ Lake Logan, near Asheville, NC

You are invited to share a living experience of ancestral Andean wisdom and healing possibilities with don Mariano . He is shown above with Sam Austin in the North Carolina mountains, during don Mariano's first pilgrimage to North America last year.

This summer, Don Mariano will share teachings that have never before been offered in North America. During the weekend workshops in June, he will guide participants into a profound experience of connection with the divine feminine, as we connect with the powerful female powers of Pachamama.

Because of the nature of the teachings, workshop size will be strictly limited. To assure your space in either of these Ñusta Karpay workshops in June, 2010 with don Mariano, let us know of your interest as soon as possible.

Ñusta Karpay Teachings and Transmissions

Two weekend workshops to be offered by don Mariano Quispe

during June, 2010 in the mountains of North Carolina

These two June workshops with don Mariano this summer will mark the first time these teachings/transmissions will be offered in North America. This will be a rare opportunity to study directly with a traditionally-trained maestro, a dedicated healer with many years of experience working within the high mountain communities of the Andes.

Open to both men and women -- and to both newcomers and those who have apprenticed for many years in traditional healing ways -- these teachings and transmissions offer each participant a possibility for profound connection with the powerful female energies known in the Andes as the Ñustas.

Your participation is welcome. These sessions with don Mariano are being shared on a suggested donation basis, with proceeds used to support the costs of the journey, the workshop facility costs and to be able to offer some funds that don Mariano will share with the community in Q'eros.

* Workshop, June 4-6, 2010: Highlands, North Carolina

A 3-day workshop will be offered June 4-6, 2010, from 1:30 pm Friday to midday Sunday at The Mountain Retreat Center in Highlands, North Carolina. This will be taught by don Mariano, with Dennis Alejo, his translator and longtime apprentice in Q'eros.

* Workshop, June 11-13, 2010: Near Asheville, North Carolina

Because of the enthusiastic response to our announcement of the first workshop, we are glad to have been able to schedule a second workshop with don Mariano for the weekend of June 11-3, 2010 near Asheville, NC. This will also be taught by don Mariano, along with Dennis Alejo, his translator and longtime apprentice in Q'eros. Please contact us for for details and to make sure space is still available in the workshop before you reserve your lodgings.

* Individual sessions

A very limited number of individual healing sessions with don Mariano may also be offered in Atlanta, Georgia and also at the two workshop locations (Monday after each workshop) in North Carolina.

To learn more about don Mariano and to get a sense of the beauty of his first visit to the USA, his pilgrimage last summer in 2009, you may want to look below at the earlier descriptions that were posted on this blog last year (see 2009 postings below for details). This summer (2010) he will also be teaching in Nantucket and California; if you are interested, let us know and we will give you contact information for our friends in those areas.

Meanwhile, we will keep you informed about all the possibilities that are unfolding for don Mariano's June 2010 visit to the Southeast, as soon as a few additional details are confirmed.

Let us know if you are interested in exploring any of these possibilities or if you would like us to hold space for you to be part of a weekend with don Mariano.

Many blessings,

Anita and Sam

Please note:

Due to the limitations of this blogspot site, you will not be able to register or to send donations for the June, 2010 weekends with don Mariano directly online here through NativeVoicesSouth.blogspot.com

Let us know of your interest and I will be glad to email you additional information.

To find out if spaces are still available and if you would like for us to hold a space for you in one of the workshops, please contact us directly -- samanita@mindspring.com

Thank you!

Anita

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Because of the nature of the teaching and the limited group size, registration in advance is required to secure your space in the workshop. For more information:

Contact Anita or Sam

samanita@mindspring.com, (404) 373-1219)

Native Voices, 2107 N Decatur Rd., # 263, Decatur GA 30033

Q'ero Maestro, Don Mariano Quispe's Pilgrimage in 2009

Message Added on May 1, 2010

The following information is about don Mariano's journey to the US last year in 2009.

We are adding this note to avoid the possibility of confusion about the dates of workshops that are scheduled for don Mariano's visit here in June 2010 (which are shown above in the recent postings) with those from last year in 2009.

We hope to see you here this summer!

With munay, Anita and Sam

It is with deep joy that we invite you to be part of the flowering of a vision, to share the journey of don Mariano Quispe, beloved Q’ero elder as he travels to North America from Peru for the first time in summer of 2009.

His pilgrimage is in fulfillment of his commitment to the sacred places of North America, a promise born of a dream-vison to connect our mountain peaks with the Apukuna, the sacred mountains of the Andes. Don Mariano will offer teachings and ceremony in Atlanta and North Carolina from July 25 to August 3, 2009.

It is a rare privilege to share this pilgrimage in the United States with don Mariano, an esteemed healer, visionary and ceremonialist of the Q’ero Nation. He has been called here by a dream to feed North America’s sacred places and to expand our awareness of how to continue to nurture those relationships long after he returns to the Andes.

You are invited to experience the teachings, humor and healing presence of this traditionally trained maestro, who came of age in the remote mountains in the days long before the modern world of telephones and the Internet came to the Andes. After his lifetime of service as a Pampamisayoq, healer and ceremonialist, the Q’ero community has formally recognized don Mariano as a Kurak Akulleq (a title reserved for the most highly esteemed visionary healer-ceremonialists of the Andes) in recognition of his clear spiritual vision and healing gifts. Yet when asked about his work, he laughs and softly says, “I’m just a paqo,” which is the Quechua word for a white llama or alpaca and also the name the Q’eros use for a simple healer/shaman/ceremonialist.

Here in the Southeastern United States, we will have a rich opportunity to plant seeds of visionary understanding among the ancient mountains and alongside the rivers of our own land. The roots of these shamanic practices are ancient, yet at the heart is a dream of a fresh and living future – a gift for our contemporary world, with powerful medicine to heal our separation from Pachamama here and now, in the present moment.

Newcomers as well as those familiar with Andean or other mesa-related paths are all warmly welcome!

If you feel a call to re-engage in intimate conversation with the earth, wind, rivers and stars, we invite you to share don Mariano’s pilgrimage, nurturing your own soul as you feed the living land of North America. Ancestral wisdom-ways of the Andes offer a luminous awareness that opens our hearts. As we come together to nourish the sacred landscape, we re-vision and re-write the dominant, governing myth of our times.

In ceremony and beauty, we awaken together into a vivid new Dream, our hearts opened and our lives illuminated by an awareness that recognizes our deep relationship with each other and the Earth.

Ancha Munay Sonquoymanta,

Anita and Sam

Ongoing updates for events in Atlanta and in the North Carolina mountains are included here: NativeVoicesSouth.blogspot.com

Or call us to discuss possibilities ~ We look forward to seeing you in just a few weeks!

Anita Stewart: (404) 373-1219, samanita@mindspring.com

Sam Austin: (678) 476-1284, pumaruna@bellsouth.net

Registration Information for 2009: Ceremony & Teachings with Q'ero Maestro, Don Mariano Quispe in the Southeast

Please note:

Below is last year's (2009) schedule; we are leaving information posted her for general information and to share a sense of what came before, during don Mariano's first trip to North America in 2009.

Summary of Scheduled Events in Atlanta and North Carolina with Don Mariano

Teaching and Ceremony in the Southeastern USA in 2009:

Different teachings will be shared at each workshop. There will be little overlap, in case you are interested in participating in more than one of these experiences with don Mariano.

(1) Atlanta: One-day workshop - July 26, 2009.

One-day workshop in Atlanta will include teachings with don Mariano on Andean philosophy and understanding of energy, the healing practices of the Q’eros, despacho offerings and their place in the ceremonial and healing cycles of life and of the seasons. A potluck dinner will follow the workshop to allow participants and ayllu members to share a meal and some informal time with don Mariano and Dennis.

(2) Mt. Mitchell, NC: One-day workshop - July 30, 2009.

We will spend a day together on the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River. Some traditional dowsers and indigenous people say it is the center of the main energy grid of Eastern North America, running up and down the spine of the Appalachian Mountains and radiating outward – similar to the Andean ceque system.

The day will include teachings, time in nature, and a despacho ceremony for “Black Dome,” a translation of an old indigenous name for Mount Mitchell. Lodgings are over an hour away in Asheville or closer in Burnsville, NC.- let us know if you need a recommendation. For the workshop, we have reserved a spacious indoor meeting room near the summit because of the capricious nature of Mt Mitchell’s weather - the event will be easily accessible to all, rain or shine.

(3) Highlands, North Carolina: Weekend workshop, July 31 – August 2, 2009.

This weekend workshop will be the most in-depth and comprehensive opportunity for apprenticeship offered here by don Mariano during the 2009 visit to the Southeastern USA.

He will share despacho ceremony, introduce teachings on traditional Q’ero practices of healing, diagnosis, divination, the reconciliation/reintegration of lost aspects of ourselves, how to honor and communicate with Pachamama and the Apus, how to create and use the traditional Andean mesa ~ and more!

Weekend at The Mountain Retreat Center near Highlands, NC. Join us in this lovely retreat center on top of Little Scaly Mountain for a respite from the summertime heat and a retreat in the midst of a rare mountain ecosystem that includes a magical forest of ancient windblown oak trees. Camping is available a few miles away or you may reserve a room at the retreat center.

Translation: Don Mariano’s native language is Quechua. Translation into English for workshops and individual healing sessions will be by Dennis Alejo, our longtime friend, native of the Andes, and a gifted teacher in his own right. He has worked with don Mariano for years, has a deep understanding of traditional Andean ceremonial work, and will be accompanying don Mariano from Peru and throughout this journey in the United States.

The Highlands area: This area of North Carolina is beautiful in the summertime. If you would like to add a few days to your trip to create a retreat or mini-vacation, let us know and we will be glad to offer some suggestions about highlights of the area.

PERSONAL HEALING or DIVINATION SESSIONS with DON MARIANO (Summer, 2009)

There will be an extremely limited number of individual sessions with don Mariano. If you are interested let us know as soon as possible.

To request a personal session with don Mariano, contact Anita or Sam in advance to see if space is still available and to discuss the possibilities for different types of sessions. Don Mariano will be assisted by Dennis Alejo, who will also serve as translator during your individual session. If you are unclear about this deeply personal healing and work, which don Mariano sometimes describes as “clearing your way” or “opening your path,” please call us to discuss possibilities.

If you have questions about other types of work with don Mariano and have apprenticed with him previously or if you seek to deepen your experience of apprenticeship on the Andean path, call and we will be glad to discuss other possibilities.

Ayni ~ On sacred reciprocity and finances:

It is our intention to be able to completely cover the substantial costs of bringing don Mariano and Dennis Alejo to the United States, to offer donations in ayni for their teachings, and to send them home with additional funds to help with some of the urgent needs of the Q’ero villages, especially for the children.

We would like to help you to participate in as much as possible of don Mariano’s pilgrimage. While balancing the financial costs of the pilgrimage, we also are dedicated to making this experience open to as many participants as possible, so are offering these workshops on a suggested donation basis.

Gifts for don Mariano, Dennis, or the Q’ero community:

Some of you have asked about sending items such as clothing or school supplies back to the Q’ero villages. Thank you for your warm-hearted generosity – yet because of airlines’ baggage restrictions and excess luggage fees, sending bulky items is not practical at this time.

By attending the workshops you are already supporting don Mariano, Dennis, and the Q’ero community. Donations you may offer for personal healings and readings also contribute.

Some of you have also asked about giving ceremonial or medicine gifts as a way to say an extra “thank you” to don Mariano or Dennis -- We suggest that if you choose to give such items, the gifts should be small, lightweight and portable.

Native Voices, 2107 N Decatur Rd. #263, Decatur, GA 30033.

Newcomers and friends who walk other spiritual paths are welcome! Thank you in advance for sharing this invitation with others who may appreciate and benefit from immersion in the healing energies of the Andes through don Mariano’s ceremony and teaching, as we anchor this experience of wholeness and beauty here in our own land.

Once again, we thank you from the heart for your loving and steadfast support and your creative co-dreaming of don Mariano’s vision of pilgrimage.

We are deeply grateful for your presence in our lives and for the many ways you help to bring to life the dream of a world where all are together in love and service to Pachamama and all of her children.

Many blessings,

Anita and Sam